Preview of a new machine in the MyoQuip range

This is the first image of the MyoLifta, a revolutionary new machine specifically developed for the sport of rugby football. It is designed to improve the lifting ability of players lifting and supporting jumpers in the lineout. It can be operated singly or by two players working together.

More details and images will be available very shortly.
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Nine-a-side rugby – a game for boofy blokes

For many rugby aficionados the sevens version of the game is deeply unsatisfying; a skim milk, decaffeinated, lukewarm concoction. At the same time there are aspects of the fifteen-a-side game that currently make it a very boring spectacle; in particular the time wasting and over-emphasis on kicking.

What I want to propose is a shortened form of the game designed for knockout carnivals which would retain most of the elements that make rugby so distinctive. There would be strong emphasis on physical engagement and the scoring of tries.

Essential elements of nines rugby

The Laws of the Game would apply to the nine-a-side game, subject to the following variations:

Playing field The field of play is narrowed from not more than 70 metres to not more than 40 metres. There is no need for goal posts and crossbars.

Player numbers At any time each team has no more than nine players on the field. Teams also have to have at least two replacements/substitutes suitably trained and experienced to play in the front row. The total number of replacements/substitutes nominated cannot exceed five of whom only three can be used in a match.

Method of scoring Tries are the only method of scoring.

Duration of matches A match consists of two halves of not more than ten minutes playing time plus lost time and extra time. However, the two halves of a competition final match may last no longer than fifteen minutes plus lost time and extra time. There will be an interval of not more than one minute at half-time, or two minutes during a competition final.

When scores are tied at full-time, extra time is played in periods of five minutes. After each period, the teams change ends without an interval. In extra time, the team that scores points first is immediately declared the winner, without any further play.

Replacement of front row players If a front row forward leaves the field and the team cannot provide a suitably trained replacement, a penalty try will be awarded against the team and the match will be continued with three-man scrums.

If the referee has signalled for a scrum to take place and a front row forward is unable to take part in the scrum without delay the referee may require that that player be temporarily replaced.

Foul play Temporary suspension of a player will be for a period of three minutes.

Mark Marks may be claimed anywhere within the field of play or in the team’s own in-goal.

Throw-in When a player anywhere in the field of play kicks directly into touch other than from a penalty, there is no gain in ground.

Five-man scrum A scrum must have five players from each team.

Lineout The player throwing the ball into the lineout shall have a maximum of twenty seconds from when the lineout begins to form to throw the ball in.

With these variations to the Laws we would have a game which is played with minimum time wasting and delays. Features which make rugby so distinctive, namely serious scrums, lineouts, rucks and mauls, are retained. And importantly the only method of winning games is to score tries.

The amount of kicking would be reduced, firstly because teams gain no advantage from kicking out on the full from their own 22, and secondly the use of the up-and-under is largely negated by the defending side being able to claim a mark anywhere on the field. At the same time teams would continue to be rewarded for accurate kicking where the ball bounces in the field of play before going into touch.

Narrowing the field of play is appropriate because the number of backline players is effectively reduced from seven to four.

Reduction in player numbers is likely to be of benefit to the fifteen-a-side game because players will have to focus on correct technique at the breakdown with referees having a much clearer view of what is going on. Spectators and viewers will also be better able to see the intricacies of scrums, lineouts and breakdown contests, which may have the effect of winning new supporters for the code.

Nine-a-side rugby will be a fast-moving, physically demanding and entertaining form of rugby which is complementary to sevens but likely to appeal to a different player and supporter base.

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Why do rugby players scrum and maul at such different body heights?

[Summary: The body height of rugby players in mauls tends to be very much higher than in scrums. High body positions are inefficient for generating forward momentum. There would be advantages in training players to pack at thigh height rather than waist height. Not only are they likely to gain dominance in the maul, but the practice of adopting biomechanically superior body positions is energy-conserving over the course of a game.]

Scrums and mauls are the two great dominance contests within the game of rugby. Marked superiority in either of these forms of engagement can affect the morale of both teams in a way that a corresponding supremacy at say the lineout does not.

Forward packs spend countless hours developing scrum technique but very much less attention is given to the maul, particularly in a defensive situation. Scrums are also elaborately structured whereas mauls tend to be chaotic. To a large extent this is due to the relative extent to which the two are regulated by the Laws of Rugby. Law 20, relating to the scrum, comprises three times as many pages as Law 17 pertaining to the maul.

Unlike the scrum, the Laws are largely silent on what players can do in the maul. Within the maul itself the most relevant clauses are that "Players joining a maul must have their heads and shoulders no lower than their hips" (17.2 (a)); they "must endeavour to stay on their feet" (17.2 (d)); and "A player must not intentionally collapse a maul" (17.2 (e)). Thus there remains considerable latitude for creativity.

One very marked difference between the two contests is that in the scrum either pack, whether having the feed or not, has the opportunity to establish dominance and drive the other pack back. By contrast it is very rare in the maul for the side not in possession to gain significant ground. This is largely due to the fact that the team with the ball is able to surreptitiously transfer the ball laterally from hand to hand so that the push from their opponents bypasses the ball-carrier, allowing him to be driven forward more or less unimpeded.



I believe that players can be trained to maul much more effectively and the secret is body height. Note the photo reproduced from the International Rugby Board's online version of the Laws of Rugby. It is intended to show the player involvements necessary for a maul to be formed. But it is also very instructive in illustrating body heights typically adopted in the maul. The ball carrier is standing upright, making no attempt to crouch. His team mate in attempting to seal off the ball has his shoulder at chest height of the ball-carrier. Their opponent has bound on the ball-carrier at waist height. None of these players have their legs positioned to exert an effective forward shove.

The body height adopted by the first players engaging from each team usually defines the height of their side of the ensuing maul. Subsequent players typically bind against the buttocks of the players in front of them. Players arriving at a maul tend to simply bend at the waist when joining the contest.

Compare the likely height of this maul with the body height of the same players in a scrum situation. It can be confidently anticipated that body heights would be at least 300mm lower in a scrum than in a maul.

If the defending player in the photo were to bind around the thighs of his opponent rather than the waist, he would create a platform for his team mates to bind at something close to scrummaging height. Each of the players is then likely to have optimal hip and knee joint angles for generating forward momentum. It might even be advantageous for players to adopt the second-rower's technique of binding between the thighs of the player in front, whether team mate or foe. The one essential requirement is that players packing low secure a very firm grip to avoid being penalised for going to ground.

While front row players in the scrum are prohibited from "lifting or forcing an opponent up" (20.8 (i)), there is no corresponding restriction in relation to mauls. Although lifting is treated as "dangerous play" in the scrum, it does not have the same connotation in the maul where players are bound in an unstructured way and not confined or compressed as in the scrum. With his shoulder under his opponent's buttocks a player is ideally placed to drive up, forcing the opponent to give ground.

While mauls are often formed in an unstructured way, many of them emerge from static engagements such as the lineout or where the ball is being contested after a tackle. In such a situation a well-drilled team would have the opportunity to rapidly adopt a pseudo-scrum formation and drive forward. Not only are they likely to gain advantage in that particular maul, but the practice of adopting biomechanically superior body positions will undoubtedly be energy-conserving over the course of a game.
rugby
rugby scrum
rugby maul
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Laws of Rugby
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